Vanguard social justice articles involving criminal justice reform
Residents of Dublin, CA and immigrant justice advocates are urging the City Council to reject any attempt to reopen the former Federal Correctional Institution Dublin as an immigration detention center due to its documented history of staff sexual abuse and dangerous conditions.
Gabriel “Snoop” Roberson, who has served decades in prison for a 1994 Antioch shooting, reached a plea agreement overturning his multiple life sentences and making him eligible for release within five years due to California’s evolving juvenile justice reform laws.
Incarcerated women in the U.S. are routinely punished for menstruating due to prison rules that fail to account for basic biological needs, resulting in a punitive environment where menstruation can result in punishment.
The Death Penalty Information Center reports that 226 military veterans have been executed, 14% of all executions in the modern era, with 66% of them having served in Vietnam, and 77% of them being executed for killing only white victims.
The judge denied the defense’s motion to dismiss the case and ruled that it should be decided by a jury, despite the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office not opposing the dismissal of charges against former San Leandro police officer Jason Fletcher, who shot and killed Steven Taylor inside a Walmart in 2020.
The Homecoming Project, a reentry housing program that pairs returning residents with homeowners willing to open spare rooms, is expanding to San Francisco to address the housing barriers faced by formerly incarcerated individuals.
New York’s 2020 bail reform law did not lead to higher crime rates, according to a new report from the Data Collaborative for Justice at John Jay College.
A New Way of Life Reentry Project will host a ceremony to honor graduates of its Career Bridge Initiative, celebrating system-impacted individuals pursuing stability, employment, and opportunity after incarceration.
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt granted clemency to death-row prisoner Tremane Laitron Wood, commuting his sentence to life without parole, just hours before he was scheduled to be executed.
The California Public Defenders Association has condemned San Luis Obispo County District Attorney Dan Dow for sharing posts on social media linking New York City’s newly elected first Muslim mayor to the September 11 terrorist attacks, citing concerns under state anti-discrimination law.
Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner has called for prosecutors and elected officials to hold the federal government accountable for human rights violations, citing aggressive immigration enforcement, militarization of law enforcement, and lack of transparency.
Oklahoma is moving forward with the scheduled execution of death row prisoner Tremane Wood, despite a clemency recommendation from the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board and a coalition of faith leaders, civil rights advocates and members of the victim’s family urging Gov. Kevin Stitt to halt the execution.
The Anti Police-Terror Project is raising concerns about the Alameda County District Attorney’s handling of police accountability cases after the prosecution decided not to contest the defense motion to dismiss all charges against former San Leandro police officer Jason Fletcher, who shot and killed Steven Taylor inside a Walmart in 2020.
The Sentencing Project has released a new study warning that U.S. prisons are increasing their incarcerated populations despite falling crime rates, and that reducing sentence lengths and investing in community-based violence prevention and reentry support is necessary to reverse this trend.
The Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board voted 3-2 to recommend clemency for death row inmate Tremane Wood, who was sentenced to death in 2004 for his role in the 2002 murder of Ronnie Wipf, despite the State’s opposition and allegations of misconduct during Wood’s incarceration.
Prisoners have a First Amendment right to communicate by phone, but prison phone monopolies are pushing for laws to ban and jam prisoners from using cellphones in order to maintain their profits from overpriced prison telecommunications.
Oklahoma faces a test of fairness and justice as the Nov. 13 execution of Tremane Wood approaches, with concerns raised about the conduct of his defense attorney and the consistency of the state’s capital punishment system.
The U.S. Supreme Court is reviewing Pitchford v. Cain, a case involving allegations of racial discrimination in jury selection by former Mississippi District Attorney Doug Evans, whose conduct was previously condemned in Flowers v. Mississippi (2019).
The California Coalition for Sheriff Oversight, the Law Enforcement Action Partnership, and the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California filed an amicus brief in support of the appeal of a 2024 Sonoma County Superior Court ruling that undermined civilian oversight of local law enforcement, arguing that the court’s decision was legally flawed and contradicted the legislative intent behind Assembly Bill 1185 and the local mandate for independent oversight expressed through Measure P.
Support for the death penalty in the United States has dropped to its lowest point in over 50 years, with 44% of Americans now opposing it, according to a new Gallup poll.